Frill searched the hangers, looking for a suitable suit for Akira.
She thought carefully about it because she assumed that he might not be pleased with a random suit she chose and that he might kill her if he was displeased.
She shook her head and gently tapped her cheeks, trying to ease her mind as the thought of dying and leaving her grandmother only made her even more scared than she needed to be.
"Golden eyes..." she muttered under her breath and rubbed her imaginary beard.
She snapped her fingers and continued perusing through the hangers.
Until she found a slick white suit with a golden tie.
"I doubt a man like him would be getting very dirty. Besides, the golden trim of this suit complements his eyes... I hope he likes it enough that he'll spare us and move on to wherever he's headed," she said as she folded the suit and held it in her hands.
She walked towards the dressing room with the suit ready. "Uh... Mr Akira? Your clothes..." she said in a soft voice.
"Very good," Akira replied as he swung the curtain to the side, revealing his naked body.
Frill looked at Akira's torso and felt something... awaken in her.
His six-pack, toned muscles and strong frame quickly caught her attention. They weren't too big, but if he were to hold her, she would feel... secure...
Then, her eyes unconsciously moved towards his lower body, where she noticed his manhood hanging.
'It's the size of Granny's arm!' she shouted in her head as she couldn't take her eyes off his meat.
As embarrassed and innocent as she behaved, she couldn't seem to look away.
"Oi, eyes up here. I'm more than just a piece of dick," Akira demanded with a distasteful voice.
"My apologies!" Frill quickly apologised.
Akira grabbed the black shirt and wore it. "So, why'd you pick this suit?"
"I uh... I just... thought about the colour of your eyes and assumed this would be a good colour on you..."
"Mh. Interesting," Akira said as he picked up a pair of underwear and covered his shame. "I trust you have good taste," he said as he grabbed the pants and put them on.
"I hope so too, haha..." Frill chuckled nervously.
After a few seconds, Akira was all dressed up in a white suit with a black shirt and tie. He fixed his tie and smiled gently.
"Handsome devil," he said to himself as he spoke to the mirror. "You've proven yourself useful. If things go well, I'll keep both of you alive."
"... Thank you?"
"Old woman, when can I get my suit back?" Akira asked as he walked towards the counter.
"It usually takes 3 days to repair a suit as expensive as this. But, because you're such a nice man, I'll have it done in a day," the old woman replied.
"No. Take your time. I wouldn't wanna wear a damaged suit because you overworked yourself."
"If you don't mind me asking, what happened to it?"
"My siblings happened. Cocky little fucks. They're lucky I didn't kill them when we were kids...!"
'How is he talking about murder and keeping a straight face at the same time?!' Frill inquired as she slipped, almost falling and dropping a few clothes.
"I'll be back in 3 days." With that, Akira stepped outside the Tailor.
As soon as he did, spears were pointed at him by the goblins. He raised his eyebrows and tilted his head.
'Looks like the cavalry has arrived. A little later than expected. That's gonna have to change,' he said to himself as he looked at the determined expressions on the goblins' faces.
Try as they might, though, they couldn't hide their fear from Akira.
It didn't matter if they wore valorous expressions.
Akira could literally smell fear.
"Alright. Take me to your leader," he urged them casually, his smile dripped with an eerie calm.
***
"Chief, the rumours are true... The demon of chaos is here..." A young goblin spoke to the goblin chief, who was seated on a large throne.
"... Evacuate the people. Make sure that he does not trap them in this village. Also, send a letter—"
"Ah, there we are!" Akira exclaimed, unconsciously interrupting the Chief's instructions. "I could get used to this."
The Chief's eyes dialled back. He felt his muscles tense up as he heard Akira's voice coming from the front lawn of his home.
Standing up from his throne, the old chief ran outside and was aghast to see the demon before him.
"Hey, young Masaki," Akira greeted the old chief with a mischievous grin on his face.
The goblins murmured amongst themselves, pondering how Akira personally knew the name of their chief.
At this point, the chief was worried about what his people would think of him. And so, he did what he could.
"Lower your weapons," he ordered, his eyes shut and confidence low.
"Huh? But, my lord—"
"No negotiations! Lower your weapons at once!" the chief raised his voice.
The goblins were taken aback by the chief's exclamation, as they had never heard him raise his voice before.
Perhaps it was driven by his fear of the demon before him, or maybe he was already frustrated and seeing Akira just sent him into a spiral of emotions.
"Y-Yes, sir!" The goblins lowered their weapons and slowly backed away.
Akira stretched his neck and stepped towards Masaki.
The goblins tried charging in, despite their fear, but Masaki raised his hand, signalling that they should cease their advance.
"You've grown old. How long's it been since we last talked? 70 years?" Akira tilted his head as he spoke to Masaki.
"What are you doing here, Akira?" Masaki queried with a hint of distaste, his words shaky.
"Simple. I'm here to collect my side of the deal. You remember, don't you? You know, the one you made when you were very young? About taking over the—"
"Alright! What is it that you want?!" Masaki shouted as he cut off Akira.
Akira ceased smiling. "Oi. Did you just raise your voice at me?" Akira inquired as he stared at Masaki in disbelief and a menacing expression. "You've grown arrogant, it seems. That's improper of you, Masaki."
Masaki got on all fours and dropped his head to the ground. "... My apologies... Lord Akira."
"Hmph. That's more like it, trash." Akira walked past Masaki and stared at his home. "This is your house, correct? What can you tell me about it?"
Masaki raised his head and faced Akira. "...It's the sacred home of all village chiefs who have ruled. It's been around for 200 years, and it's the last of my ancestors' origins," he replied.
"200 years? It's still younger than me. But, it doesn't look good at all."
"It's been around for a while..."
"Eh. It's fine," Akira shrugged. "We have more than enough time to renovate."
"... Renovate?" Masaki was confused. Then, it hit him. "Don't tell me...!"
"Oh yeah," Akira chuckled and turned to Masaki. "I told you that I'd come back to claim my half of the deal. Well, I want this village."
"B-But...!"
"But what? I helped you get this village. You're almost dead anyway. Just let me have it."
Masaki's eyebrows twitched. He assumed that Akira had returned to take his soul, but he came to take everything that he had worked hard to forge.
His eyes shook frantically, gazing at his surroundings, wondering if he was in a dream.
"Don't worry. This will be a good chance for you to repent. Who knows? Maybe heaven will let you in and I'll let you keep your soul," Akira said as he faced the house once again.
"It's your choice. Your soul or your village?"
Masaki gritted his teeth and felt his heart pounding. As much as he wanted to keep his soul, he couldn't sell out his people.
The people he worked hard to persuade. The people he worked hard to protect with all his might.
"... Everyone... Bow down to your new ruler... Akira Mephistopheles," said Masaki as he gestured towards Akira.
The goblins were in shock. They exchanged glances and began murmuring amongst themselves.
"Bow down... Please..." Masaki pleaded.
The goblins kept quiet and slowly lowered their heads, subjecting themselves to a new ruler. Akira wore a sinister smirk, and he let out a laugh.
'If they grant me their bodies, souls and their loyalty, I will spoil them rotten. They're worth keeping as slaves, I can feel it,' he said to himself. "Alright, first order of business..."
Akira turned to the house once again. Then, he cut the air and completely demolished Masaki's chieftain quarters, shocking everyone, including Masaki himself, as they murmured amongst themselves.
"Oh, shut up, slaves. You'll all build a better one anyway. That thing was a dump," retorted Akira, prompting them to quickly zip it. "Now, bring me your strongest men."
14 goblins stepped up, and they were taller than Akira, who was a strong 6'1".
"Alright." He summoned a small bag of coins and threw it at one of the goblins.
"Go buy stronger tools at the nearest blacksmith, if you don't already have one. Then, chop down the Red Wood trees, turn them into logs and bring them here."
"Y-Yes, sir," one of them responded as they left.
"As for the rest of you, I hope you're ready to put your backs into hard work. Now that I run this bitch, your lives are either going to get a whole lot better or far worse. Understood?" Akira said as he smirked proudly, grabbing the attention of the goblins with the snap of a finger.